To protect software manufacturers' copyrights in software sold to the public, manufacturer's commonly license software to the purchaser. Additionally, in many applications the purchaser has elected to pay only for certain features of software which must be selectively enabled by the manufacturer. In particular, each release or version of a particular software package for a customer premise telecommunication switching system contains a large number of features, and most customers elect to pay for only a subset of the total number of features. Features in a telecommunications switching system refer to certain specialized operations such as call hold, call transfer, automatic route selection, etc. An ongoing problem in the art is to prevent newer versions of software from being pirated and used on unauthorized hardware and/or otherwise authorized customers from actuating features for which the customer has not paid.
A number of methods have been developed to protect against such unauthorized use of software.
In one method, passwords, that allow only authorized individuals to have access to the telecommunication switching system, are used to control enablement of features or new software versions. This method is inflexible and inconvenient for customers as an authorized technician must be scheduled to enable the features, can be circumvented by a person misappropriating or misusing the password, and does not provide for periodic license verification during system operation.
In another method, a key is required to enable the software program. This solution does not solve the copying problem because the key is normally printed on the packaging of the software, and anyone can install the software as many times as they wish, however illegal it may be.
In yet another method, a special piece of hardware or “dongle” is used. The dongle is a special piece of hardware that connects to the serial or parallel port of the computer. The software running on the computer sends a random number to the dongle. The dongle performs a secret computation and returns a result. The software makes a like computation; if the two computations match, the software continues to run. To work satisfactorily, the response must include feature and version information. The use of the dongle is cumbersome when it fails. In the event that the dongle fails, the system is down until a new dongle can be physically obtained on site. Also, once made the dongle is fixed. If it was used for feature activation, a new dongle is required for each additional feature that is purchased.
A further method is to freely distribute CD-ROM disks. When the CD-ROM is inserted into a computer, the computer automatically connects to a remote server via the Internet or a dial-up connection to receive a machine-specific key. The key unlocks the software so that it can be utilized on that computer. The remote server also obtains the necessary payment information from the computer user. This method does not function well for a telecommunication switching system since it does not provide for the authorization to use different features of the same software application nor is it dependent on the version of the software being requested. In addition, it does not provide the necessary authorization of personnel to make such a request.
Another method requires the software, upon installation or first execution, to record serial number information (e.g., medium access control or MAC address) regarding predetermined hardware components of the computer system. The software permits the user a specified number of hardware serial number changes before it disables itself. This method, though effective, is unfair to users who, over time, legitimately exceed the number of permitted serial number changes through reuse of the software on a number of different systems and/or periodic replacement of some of the predetermined hardware components in a given system to upgrade or maintain the system.
The drawbacks of the various licensing methods discussed above are addressed by the licensing method discussed in detail in copending U.S. Patent Application entitled “Securing Feature Activation in a Telecommunication System”, Ser. No. 09/357,679, filed Jul. 20, 1999, to Serkowski, which is incorporated herein by this reference. In this method, a valid license file is required to run a computational component. The license file contains a serial number that must be present on the hardware that is to execute the licensed software for the license to be valid and the software to be executable. In telecommunication applications, for example, the serial number of the control processor must be in the license file for the control processor to run the licensed software.
The license file also contains a name and/or version of the licensed telecommunication application and licensed features. The data structures corresponding to the features are of two types. In a type 1 feature, the data structures reflected enablement or disablement of the corresponding feature using a simple on/off state. Examples of features falling into this category include attendant vectoring, restrict call forward off net, and enhanced conferencing. In a type 2 feature, the data structures include a single numeric value and/or a name kind of entry. Examples of features falling into this category include maximum number of ports, maximum number of administered IP trunks, and call center release.
The licensing method described in the above patent application file can have drawbacks in certain applications. For example, when a computational component is sold a system record is manually created for use in later generating a license file. In telecommunication applications, material codes are used by an enterprise resource management or ERM system to track what hardware and/or software and software features were purchased. These material codes are manually converted into the corresponding items for license file generation. Manual record creation suffers not only from high labor costs but also from human error and permits abuse by personnel, who may provide a customer with additional, unpaid for features. The licensing method, though effective for controlling right-to-use for newly purchased components, can be inefficient in licensing system upgrades. In new installations, the software and/or software features that the customer is entitled to use is based entirely upon what the customer ordered. In contrast when a system upgrade is purchased, the customer is entitled to use not only the software and/or software features ordered but also the software and/or software features present on the system before installation of the upgrade.